Come Home To Me
by Fangrules
Summary: It's been seven years since Fort Dix was bombed and Max's soldier died. Now, on the anniversary of his death she returns to the beach where she broke down his walls with her son. Final installment of the War trilogy.


_It's been seven years since Fort Dix was bombed and Max's soldier died. Now, on the anniversary of his death she returns to the beach where she broke down his walls with her son. _

Seven years.

Max couldn't believe it; just thinking those two words sent a pang through her. Seven years to the day since he died.

Since her family was killed.

So much had changed in that time, the war had ended leaving the remnants of humanity scattered and afraid. The day Fort Dix was bombed was the beginning of the end as far as she had been concerned at the tender age of seventeen. The news of his death had crushed her; she thought she'd never feel a worse pain. But then there was the second bombing over the small park where her mother, father and sister had taken her younger brother for the day. Several more bombs had shattered what was left of the small town she'd grown up in, killing hundreds of the people she'd grown up around.

That fateful day when she had lost absolutely everything was the day the war ended.

The world was in tatters by that point; man had almost wiped itself out. With the population teetering dangerously close to less than a million, whole countries turned against their leaders, tearing them from their places of power and fighting for their right to live. Some had fought it, demanded that the war continue to the very end – until every last man had fallen.

They were gone now.

The rest of the world would not stand for it. Not another drop of blood would be spilt.

It took twenty years, billions of deaths and enough suffering to cripple the strongest of men but it was finally over.

The world was united.

It had been for almost ten years now. Seven years of reasonable peace. Still the world was nowhere near stable but it was getting better, it was starting to piece itself together again. The process was slow and more often than not painful but ever so slowly, piece by piece things were repairing themselves.

"Momma!" the gleeful giggle broke Max from her thoughts making her realise that tears had built in her eyes and in an effort to hide them from the energetic little boy bouncing down the beach with a fistful of shells she scrubbed her palms against her eyes.

"Hey honey." She crooned, crouching down to his height.

"Look!" he thrust his hand out towards her, green eyes sparkling with excitement.

With a faint smile Max accepted the collection of shells he'd collected.

"Mm, very pretty." She hummed making him grin proudly.

"And I found a starfish!" He continued, bouncing up and down on the spot as he continued to list his achievements in the minutes Max hadn't been paying attention.

It was his birthday today, seven years old. He'd been excited to turn seven for three whole weeks already, almost driving Max insane. A fond smile curved at her lips as she thought of his incessant babbling about what he was going to do now that he wasn't a baby anymore. She remembered the first day she laid eyes on him. He had changed so much for her that day.

It was in an orphanage six years ago, she'd spent the better part of a year travelling around the country with a small group of people who had access to medical supplies and had decided to help those that they could.

_*Flashback*_

_The weather was terrible – it was worse than terrible as far as she was concerned. The rain pelted down on the poor dilapidated building that housed more than two hundred orphans, the wind whipping mercilessly at the wooden planks nailed to the windows, letting out high pitched wails as it did so. Max trudged through the knee deep mud towards the door with three others right behind her. _

_Danny, Charlotte and Crystal had saved her in almost every sense of the word. She was hit by a stray bullet during one of the last scuffles and they'd been there to patch her up. When they'd chatted about the work they were going to do and what they hoped to accomplish Max instantly jumped at the chance to leave the destroyed town that held all of her childhood memories. At first Danny was hesitant to let her tag along but Charlotte easily persuaded him that she could help. _

_They set out the next day to continue their self-proclaimed mission to bring aid to anyone that needed it. Max quickly picked up on the hands-on medical training she'd had to do while on the road and enjoyed what she did, never once regretting her decision to join them. Now, a year later they'd come almost full circle, the town they were in now was one of their last stops in America. Charlotte wanted to go overseas to see if she could locate some of her family members and continue their work over there and the others were joining her. _

_They made it to the front door soaked to the bone and caked in mud but none of them cared, they'd gone through worse conditions and were never really clean anyway. The door to the orphanage was thrown open by a portly old woman with a pair of glasses perched on the bridge of her nose – the left lens broken. _

"_Come in, quickly!" She urged, all but pulling the four into the small entryway. Covering the floor were thin make-shift mattresses, each with a hollow-cheeked child perched on top with a threadbare blanket shared between three. They all stared up at their guests with wide eyes and watched curiously as they walked to the only table they had and cleared it of its contents. They proceeded to empty the two large bags they carried which contained syringes, bandages, mild sedatives and various other items they could get their hands on._

_Water dripped in a steady stream down onto the table landing in a hastily filling metal bowl but no one paid any attention to it. _

"_My name's Grace. Thank you so much for coming on such short notice." She old woman chattered on offering what little food they had which the four easily declined._

"_Bring the worst of them first, starting from youngest to oldest please, Grace. The sooner we can give them the medication the sooner they will all be feeling better." Danny said calmly, laying a calloused hand on the woman's shoulder. "Max will help you." He nodded over to the woman in question and Grace smiled hugely at her. _

"_Thank you." She sighed and darted from the room with Max by her side. "It's the little ones I'm most concerned about; the babies can't cope with such conditions…" Grace spoke, wringing her hands together nervously. "They're always sick but recently I haven't been able to keep up with it." Grace came to a stop in front of a doorway. Inside were a handful of make-shift cribs with two babies or more in each. They're loud screams barely perceptible over the booms of thunder that rattled the very walls. Grace reached into the nearest cot and picked up a crying baby, cradling it to her comfortingly. _

_Max took her lead and quickly scanned the room for the babies that needed immediate treatment. After picking out the four worst off Max and Grace hurried back to Danny, Charlotte and Crystal who had completely set up their travelling hospital. Each baby was laid down on a thin blanket and Max and Grace left to fetch the others. _

"_Gavin, Henry!" Grace called, poking her head into another small room which housed the older boys. _

_Two boys about the age of fifteen hurried out into the hall. With matching mops of chestnut hair and bright blue eyes it was easy to name them twins. "Gather the older girls. I want you to line everyone up depending on how bad they are ok?" _

"_Ok." They said at the same time before disappearing down the hall. _

_It took five hours to inoculate every child in the orphanage. By the end of it the storm had eased and only two babies had not made it. _

_Grace's green eyes were shiny with tears as Max and Charlotte picked up the tiny bodies. "We'll take care of them." Charlotte assured and Grace nodded gratefully. "We'll be right back." Charlotte called to Danny as she and Max left the building. _

_Their boots squelched in the thick mud and the rain poured down their faces as they made their way to the bus. It was Danny's idea to install a portable crematoria to burn the bodies of the sick they were too late to save. The last thing they needed was dead bodies poisoning the water and ground. _

_Max hugged the baby to her even though she knew it no longer held life. It always brought tears to her eyes when they were in this situation. Halfway to the bus a particularly nasty gust of wind almost knocked Max over and she squeezed the baby tighter. She froze the second the felt it. A small hand fisting her shirt. She glanced down pulling the baby away just to make sure she wasn't imagining things. Sure enough five tiny blue fingers loosely gripped her soaked shirt. _

"_Char! Danny was wrong!" Max cried, darting over to the woman. "He's not dead." She yelled over the wind, offering the baby to Charlotte who hesitantly took it from her. _

_She checked the baby's pulse and felt for any sign of life only to sigh and shake her head. "He's dead, Max." was the reply she got. _

_Just as Charlotte was about to throw the baby into the fire Max lurched forward and yanked him out of her hold. "No! I swear it Charlotte, he's alive!" She curled the baby protectively under her thick coat to show she wasn't giving in on this one. _

_With a sigh Charlotte pinched the bridge of her nose, "I know it's hard Max but you have to accept the fact that he's dead." _

"_But he's not." Max protested, "I don't care what you say, Char, this baby isn't dead and I am not going to leave it to die." She whirled round and darted back inside to where Danny and Crystal stood with the bags half packed. _

_Danny looked tired, his black hair sticking up in every direction thanks to his nerves. His light brown eyes were hazy with sleep and he swayed where he stood. Taking this as a ticket to buy some time Max put a hand on her shoulder. "I think we can spend the night here, Danny. We're all exhausted." _

_He didn't even bother arguing; instead he rumbled his agreement and blearily trekked back to the bus. _

_Max spotted Grace surrounded by a group of young teenagers, talking his hushed whispers. _

"_Grace?" _

_The old woman's head snapped up at the mention of her name. _

"_I need something warm, anything, this little guy isn't going to last if he doesn't get warm." Max pulled the baby boy from under her coat and Grace's jaw hit the floor. _

"_He's alive?" She gasped, eyes the size of dinner plates. _

"_For now." Max said grimly and instantly one of the teens shrugged out of his thin jacket and offered it to Max. She shook her head, "We won't be helping anyone if you get sick too." She said gently, refusing to take the jacket. _

_The boy glanced back at the other three teenagers and thrust his hand out towards Max. "I'm fine." He insisted and finally Max relented, taking the offering. _

_The group got up as one and huddled around the boy, creating a human blanket._

_Max smiled at the act. These children were survivors. She wrapped the material around the blue baby and hugged him tightly, stroking the soft downy black hair that covered his head. She pressed her lips to his head as she rocked from side to side, watching the others in the room interacting. _

_Grace approached with a chipped mug of warm tea, her eyes gentle and concerned as she spoke, "Shouldn't you be heading back to the bus to get some rest, dear? I'm sure it would be much more comfortable for you there." _

_Max instantly shook her head. If she returned to the bus with a near-dead baby in her arms a fight would no doubt break out. After all, Danny himself had declared the baby dead and they would probably think that the lack of sleep, horrible things they encountered and her own personal experience had finally gotten to her. No, it was a much better plan to stay in the orphanage for the night and see if the baby made it before she faced the others. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to stay here."  
><em>

_Grace smiled in understanding and wrapped her arms around Max's shaking shoulders. "Well then we better find you something dry to put on!" She tugged Max out of the room towards the older girls' room where at least fifteen girls sat talking softly between themselves. The second Grace appeared in the doorway, however, all heads snapped up and as much as they tried to hide it Max could tell they were glad to see their carer. _

"_Girls, we'll be having a guest for the night." As if that was all she needed to say Grace waited expectantly for her desired reaction. _

_It only took a few seconds in which the girls eyed each other before the eldest two stood up to lift their small mattress revealing two spare pairs of clothes. The blond picked up one set, bundled up the blanket and picked up the mattress, wordlessly leaving the room. pleased with this Grace thanked the girls and bid them goodnight before gesturing for Max to walk further down the hall to the last door. Stepping through the beaded separation Max opened her mouth to protest when she noticed the girl laying the clothes out neatly on the mattress which was pressed against one wall. _

_Instantly Grace put her hand up, "No, I will hear none of it. You are our guest and after everything you and your friends have done for us this is the least we can do. Sarah can sleep with the younger girls tonight." _

_Max knew she was not going to win this and sighed, "Thank you, Sarah, Grace." _

_The girl smiled, "Thank _you_ for saving my brothers and sisters." Sarah hugged Grace and ducked out the room leaving Max to cradle the baby which had thankfully started to warm up. _

"_Get some rest, Max. I will see you in the morning." Grace glanced down at the baby in her arms, "Would you like me to take him?"_

_Max chewed on her lip, reluctant to release him. She chose to cuddle him closer and shake her head, "No thanks."_

_Grace left without another word, the beads clinking against each other behind her. Max carefully shrugged out of her soaked coat and spread it out on the ground to let it dry all the while still holding the baby to her chest. Bundling the blanket into a ring she laid him down to finish changing into the borrowed clothes. After drying her hair as best she could with her wet clothes she pulled it up into a loose bun. The storm still raged outside, the rain pelting the plastic bag taped to the window to cover the hole viciously. Max sat down with her back against the wall and picked up the baby again, his little body fitting easily to her. She could see his chest rise and fall ever so slightly and her heart swelled with pride. _

_He _was_ alive. _

_Leaning her head back against the wall she brought her knees up slightly to ly him against them. Instead of the dreadful blue his skin had started returning to its normal pigment, a slightly olive tone. His lips parted in an 'O' and fingers curling into fists at his sides with his mop of black hair he was a beautiful baby, and a survivor. Max stroked his cheek and smiled, "Yeah, you're definitely a survivor." She crooned. _

_He gave a little gurgle in reply._

_"I'll take care of you, I promise." Max breathed him in, revelling in the comforting smell that clung to him, "I'll take care of you." _

_The next morning Max was woken by a grinning grace who held a small bowl of porridge. Honestly, it didn't look too appetising but Max ate it with relish. Warm food was a nice treat. The baby boy slept peacefully on the mattress as Max ate with Grace, his side pressed against Max's leg and his fingers stuffed into his mouth. _

"_Where are you going next?" Grace enquired with interest. _

_Max sighed, "Europe if Charlotte's plans are carried out. Well, I _was_ going to Europe…" She glanced down at the baby, "but maybe its time I stopped running away." She chewed on her lip as she considered her own words. She'd known even then that she was taking the coward's way out of dealing with her losses but honestly there didn't seem to be any other option at the time. _

_At least with Danny, Charlotte and Crystal she would be achieving something, helping those who needed it. She thought about the small amount of money she had saved up over the last year. It wasn't much but she was a millionaire compared to others. Maybe it was even enough to buy a small piece of land and start rebuilding her life. _

"_Do you have any family left? Or perhaps some friends?" Max instantly noticed the pitying tone in Grace's voice and her eyes snapped up to the woman. They barely had enough food, the house was falling to pieces, they had nothing to protect them from the cold but each other and she had over two hundred children to care for yet she looked like the happiest woman on earth, Max couldn't understand it. _

"_Through this whole ordeal I have come to find that it's not a perfect home or money that keeps you alive but people. Without someone to care for…life drifts away." Grace caressed the sleeping baby's hand with her finger and a fond smile curved her lips. "It's amazing how much children can change your life." _

"_Do you ever wish that things could go back to the way they were? Before the war?" Max whispered. _

_Grace sighed sadly, "Of course I do, but not for my sake, for the children. They deserve a better life." Her eyes shiny with tears she swiped them away, "What we have here, however, is something that could never have existed had things been the way they were. As terrible as the war was, as many people died and stole and lied and any number of other things, something good has come out of it. We've learned to love, _truly_ love again. Losing that in the first place is what started the War. This is our chance to start again before we totally destroy ourselves." _

_Max nodded in understanding. Before the conversation could progress any further the beads clinked and Crystal appeared in the doorway. "We're ready to go, Max." She announced with a sleepy yawn. "Charlotte had me up extra early to help clean up the clothes. Why she bother's I'll never understand." She dramatically tossed her blond curls over her shoulder. She stopped the second she noticed the baby on the mattress, his eyes fluttering open to reveal sparkling green orbs. Her jaw hit the floor. "Is that the baby from last night?" She gasped, unable to stop her eyes from growing wide. _

_Max picked him up, tucking him securely into her. _

"_Yes." _

"_Wow…but Danny was so sure he was dead. You know he checks and rechecks until Char has to haul him away." _

_Max quickly responded to stop the cloud of guilt that had started to glisten in Crystal's eyes. "It's not Danny's fault. He was practically dead. It doesn't matter now, he's perfectly fine." She assured, getting to her feet and offering the baby to her. _

"_Oh he's absolutely gorgeous!" Crystal squealed, taking him from Max. "What's his name?" She asked between incomprehensible baby talk. _

_Max turned to Grace to answer the question but she simply shrugged. "He does not have one yet. The children grow too attached to them if they are given names at such a young age. Since most do not survive the first year…we just prefer to wait a little longer." _

_Crystal was too preoccupied with cooing over the baby to pay any attention to Grace's comment. _

"_He deserves a name." Max said simply. "Emery." _

_Crystal looked up at Max, bouncing the baby from side to side. "Emery?" _

"_It means brave." Max informed the women.  
>Crystal narrowed her eyes at him and nodded, "Yeah. Emery. He looks like an Emery." <em>

"_Emery it is then." Grace smiled and held out her arms for him. _

_Reluctantly Crystal handed little Emery over. _

_Max's heart gave a tug when Crystal turned towards the door. "Come on Max, Danny wants to get going so we can hit the next town before dark." _

_The next town. The way Crystal looked at her Max knew what she was thinking. They were returning to Max's home town before they left the country. _

"_It seems you have a choice to make, Max." Grace patted her arm comfortingly. "It was a pleasure to meet you, girls." _

_She'd already made it, she'd spent the majority of the night just watching Emery sleep, her throat thick with suppressed tears as she thought about her poor baby brother who would've just turned two. Of course, thinking of Ari opened the gates for a number of memories about her whole family and…Fang. She hadn't thought of him in weeks. It had become easier to throw herself into her work instead of letting her mind wander to thoughts of her soldier. _

_Crystal excitedly babbled on about Charlottes plans to stay out in the country and the house that was ready and waiting for them but Max paid little attention as they left the orphanage. They'd made it halfway to the bus where Danny and Charlotte were waiting impatiently before Max abruptly stopped. _

"_Max?" Crystal looked back at her questioningly. _

"_I forgot something." Max whispered and spun on her heel, running back to the building. She found Grace in the table room with a handful of the children, all their eyes growing wide when the door burst open.  
>Grace smiled knowingly at her and stood up, "Are you sure?"<em>

_Max took a deep breath and nodded, eyes trained on Emery bundled in Grace's arms. Feeling the need to elaborate she found herself blurting out, "I-I don't want to be alone anymore, Grace." _

_The woman sighed, "I understand but what will you do with a baby?"_

"_I have a little money saved and I have a friend who I can stay with." _

"_Do you know how to care for him?"_

_Max's features pinched, "I had a little brother…yes I know what to do." _

_Grace stared at Max for a long moment before her eyes softened. "Take good care of him." She ordered sternly, holding him out to Max. _

_Her throat tight and her eyes burning to stepped forward to take him in her arms, breathing in his baby smell and smiling. _

"_Thank you." _

"_Good luck, dear." Grace folded her into a tight hug then leant down to kiss the top of Emery's head. "You'll see. He'll bring out the best in you." After touching Max's cheek Grace ushered her out the door towards the bus, "You don't want to be left behind!" _

_Tears in her eyes Max choked out a laugh, "Bye, Grace." _

"_Goodbye, Max." _

_With that Danny honked the bus' horn and Max ran over to the already running bus. No one said a word as Max climbed on with the baby held protectively to her chest._

_They just made it to the town before the sun set, Danny back to his usual sarcastic self after hours stuck with the girls. Max watched with a smile as Crystal, Charlotte and Danny argued about what to take with them while she sat on the mattress in the back; trying to make Emery giggle. Every time she succeeded all eyes would train on her but she ignored it concentrating instead on Emery. His tiny fingers curled around one of hers, clutching it tightly as his green eyes shone with glee. _

_The bus lurched to a halt and Max knew this was it. Crystal helped Max pack her meagre belongings and Danny insisted she take what was left of their food supply. "We're not going to need it and besides, it's not just for you. Sell some of it and get some things for him." He shoved the last of the canned and fresh foods into a spare bag as he spoke. When standing up straight Danny was a good head taller than her and he locked his blue eyes with hers to tell her he was being deadly serious, "You're one of a kind, Maximum Ride. One day, you'll do great things." He chuckled and gestured around, "Well, greater than this, anyway." _

_Max gave him a one-armed hug and then turned to Crystal who was desperately trying to bite back tears. _

_Finally she gave in and threw her arms around Max, careful not to squish Emery who had fallen asleep. "You're gonna be a great mom." She whispered, giving Max a wobbly smile. _

_Charlotte was next, offering a much gentler version of Crystal's bear hug. "I only know a handful of people who would've done what you did today." Charlotte tapped Emery's button nose. "Be careful, ok? Things are still pretty rough and if you ever need anything…well you know where to find us." _

"_Thank you, Char." Max released the last of her friends, shouldered the bag Danny had packed, laid Emery in the make-shift carry cot Crystal had whipped up and exited the bus. Crystal hung half out the window and waved enthusiastically even as Danny drove away with Charlotte shaking her head at her friend's actions. _

_Max waved back until they turned at the end of the block and disappeared out of sight leaving her standing in front of a familiar two story house with a simple bench placed in the centre of the grass in front. Her heart thumping loudly in her chest and butterflies engulfing her stomach she made her way up to the front door. Towards the house she'd left a year ago to escape the memories, towards the friend she'd promised to contact but never did, towards her new life. _

_Nudge went absolutely ballistic when she'd found Max standing outside with a baby in hand and eyes filled with tears. She'd yelled at Max for not contacting her, she'd laughed happily that she was finally back and she cried When she actually accepted the fact that she was staying. Now, when Max had left Nudge her childhood home it had been with the intention to never go back but she only realised then when standing in the corridor with the kitchen exactly how she remembered it and an old record playing in her grandpa's record player just how much she had missed being home, unwanted memories or not. _

_The girls switched stories for hours, Nudge brought Max up to date with progress in the community and how everyone had worked together to get as much fixed as possible. of course, Max could see that just from looking outside, the street was immaculate though instead of tar the road had been cobbled, vegetable patches took up front lawns, doors were left wide open, and down the street the last of the houses was being patched up with at least fifty people working on it.  
><em>

_"Wow…" Max breathed, shaking her head in disbelief. "Everything's so…different…"_

_Nudge shrugged and stirred her mug of hot coffee. "Maybe but its better. Nothing like how mom said it was before the war. I mean, we all had nothing at the end of it and it was like everyone woke up out of this terrible dream and realised that fighting each other wasn't going to help anything. It's sorta just taken off from there. Everyone helps everyone, no questions asked. You help, you get helped. It's simple."_

_They lapsed into a comfortable silence, Max lightly tickling Emery's tummy idly which would earn the occasional giggle or gurgle. _

_Finally, after fidgeting in her chair for a long while Nudge voiced the question that had been swirling around in her head since she'd first seen Max, "Listen, this might sound a bit judgemental – "_

_Max instantly cut her off, setting her tired brown eyes on her friend, "No, Nudge. He's not mine, not in blood, anyway."_

_Nudge nodded as if this made total sense to her earning a smile from Max. _

"_I'll tell you all about it another time. Right now I just want to be home."_

"_Ok, sure." Nudge suddenly cheered up and sat a little straighter in her chair, "Hey, you wanna go up into the attic and get some of Ari's stuff down for Em? He looks about the same size but if it doesn't fit I'm sure there's someone around that'll have something that will."_

_Max eyes flashed with pain at the thought of her brother but she smothered it instantly. She'd done enough mourning, it was time to accept and appreciate the time she had with her family. "Yeah, that's a good idea." Max gulped down the last of her coffee and picked up the cot. _

_Two hours later the attic was empty of everything, Ari's room was cleared and everything was set up. Surprisingly Nudge had kept everything from diapers to bottles which Max appreciated. Now, Emery slept peacefully, his downy hair wet from a nice warm bath, his cheeks a rosy red, sprawled out on his back across Ari's crib with a clean nappy and nothing else. _

"_He's a really beautiful baby." Nudge noted as she leant over the crib to watch him sleep. _

"_And he's a fighter." Max said under her breath but the way Nudge's eyes flashed to her she guessed she heard. Thankfully Nudge didn't question her about it. "Is my room still up for grabs? I think we'll be hanging around for a while and as much as I love you, Nudge, there is no way we're sharing a room."_

_Nudge grinned, "Course it is Maxi, kept it just the way it was the day you left." She hesitated for a moment, sobering up; "I'm gonna go take a shower and Em's out for the count." _

_Nudge gave Max a quick hug before she left her along. _

_Max lingered by Emery's side for a few minutes longer, steeling herself for entering her room again. _

_Down the hall she stopped in front of her door, the 'DO NOT ENTER. OFFENDERS WILL BE SHOT' sign Ella had gotten her for her fifteenth birthday still nailed to it. With a shaky hand she pushed it open to reveal her bedroom with the dark curtains pulled shut and her bed still a complete mess from the morning she'd woken up that fateful day. She took a step forward only to hear metal slide against metal and looked down to find two stainless steel rectangles lying on the floor. _

_A wave of nausea threatened to knock her over when she realised what they were and her hand shot out to steady herself, gripping the doorframe tightly. Tears sprung to her eyes, slipping silently down her cheeks as she bent to pick up the tags that she'd ripped from her neck after finding out her soldier was dead. She clutched them tightly in her hand and traced his name reverently. After taking a few steadying breathes she wrapped the tags around her wrist just like he had the night she met him. _

_It was easier to go through her things after that, she found his letters sitting in a small pile on her bedside table, the pages dusty and slightly yellow but otherwise unchanged. She sat on her bed, her legs tucked under her as she read through them, smiling at his responses. Of course she could barely remember what she had sent to him so something tings didn't quite make sense but it didn't matter, the fact was that she still had something special – his thoughts. Once she was finished she smoothed them out and laid them down in her drawer, fearing that if she folded them they would fall apart. _

_She went through her closet, her make-up still on the table, the photo's she'd collected over the years and the small inconsequential things like the half-empty can of silly string that she'd attacked her dad with a couple of months before the bombing, the eye-liner Ari had half chewed and a couple of lists of things her mom wanted her to pick up from the store. She fell asleep on her bed, curled around one of her pillows with a picture of her family still in hand. _

_*End Flashback*_

A small hand pressed to her cheek, "Momma?"

She snapped out of her reverie and smiled warmly at Emery whose green eyes now shone with concern.

"Where'd you go?" He cocked his head to the side, mop of black hair flopping into his eyes.

She brushed it out the way and wrapped him up in a hug. He didn't protest and eagerly returned it, pressing a sticky kiss to her cheek. "I love you, Momma."

"I love you too, my brave little man." She whispered against his forehead. "Hey, what do you say about building the biggest sandcastle ever?"

Em gasped, "Yeah!" He spun on his heel and darted off to the water, snatching up his bucket on his way.

Max pulled her hair up into a pony before following him down, her own bucket and spade at the ready.

The beach was reasonably quiet today, only four other people wandered around, one young couple sitting on the dunes, a woman out for a run and a man standing by the edge of the water. Emery was in such a rush to get his bucket filled so he could start the castle that he barely even noticed the man until he'd run straight into his legs, causing him to plop down in the sand and the man to turn around in surprise.

His eyes as big as saucers Emery stammered out an apology, bucket and spade forgotten beside him.

"Em!" Max groaned, quickening her pace to reach them. "I'm so sorry about that, he never watches where's he's going." She apologised as Emery scrambled up and dashed behind her legs.

She ruffled his black hair and lifted her eyes to the man Em had run into only to have the air knocked from her lungs. A mess of black hair lay in pitch black eyes, lips tilted up ever so slightly at the corner, defined jaw smattered with stubble, tall lean body. She gulped back the '_No_.' she had been about to release and forced herself to be calm even though she felt anything but. Her mind reeled even as she offered the man a smile, her body rigid. "Sorry." She said again before taking Em's hand and walking off quickly. She took a handful of deep breaths and fought back the tears, internally berating herself for being so stupid as to let someone who resembled him affect her so much.

They'd only made it a few feet before a hand closed around her arm tightly but not enough to hurt her. Forced to come to a stop she whipped her head over to the man, mashing her teeth together. Em finally ran out of arm and was jerked to a stop too when Max didn't move.

"Max." His voice. _Oh god_, it sounded almost exactly like him. Heart pounding and feeling very nauseous she pulled her arm from his grip and tucked Em into her side.

_Keep it under control, Ride, you can't go having a melt down every time you see a black haired brown eyed guy_. But the strange thing was that this had never happened before, she'd never looked at someone who slightly resembled him and broken down; she'd _never_ reacted like this before. After all, if she thought she might she wouldn't have come to the place they'd met on the anniversary of his death with her son.

It was just meant to be a treat for Em, they hardly ever went to the beach and he loved it so much and it was his birthday so Nudge had thought it would be something fun for her to do to distract her from the fact that it was Memorial Day. She cleared her throat, trying to relax slightly because she could feel Em's anxiety. She lifted her chin slightly and opened her mouth to speak but whatever she was about to say got stuck. She needed to leave, she _really_ needed to leave.

Em clutched her jeans tighter, anchoring Max down.

She tried again but what came out her mouth was not what she had planned. "_You're dead_."

Confusion flitted across those impenetrable black eyes that she still often dreamed about. He took a step closer, invading her space but she didn't move a muscle. She noticed something then, the long thin scar that weaved its way from the corner of his right eye to the edge of his lips. Before she could stop herself or even register what she was doing her hand came up to lightly trace it.

His eyes softened as he leaned into her hand, the small smile back in place.

She bit her bottom lip to stop from crying but he released it from her teeth, his fingers rough against her skin.

"Max…" He whispered again, closing the small amount of space left between them.  
>"Fang." She couldn't hold it back anymore, a sob ripped from her chest and tears coursed down her cheeks as his familiar, strong arms wrapped around her protectively, crushing her to his chest.<p>

"Momma." Em huffed from below but when Max looked down at him he didn't look nearly as frightened as before. He stood with his hands on his hips and a frown on his face making Max chuckle as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Sorry buddy." She sniffed and disentangled herself only to have Fang slip his fingers through hers.

"Who are you?" He eyed Fang suspiciously, radiating protectiveness, puffing his chest out to try and look more threatening.

Max stifled a smile, "Honey, this is an old friend of mine." She glanced at Fang to find him openly staring at her, his black eyes burning with question. "We haven't seen each other in a long time."

"Oh. Ok." Seeming satisfied with this answer Em relaxed. "I'm gonna go swimming." He announced and darted off towards the water.  
>"Not too deep!" Max called after him as he dashed for the rock pools, her eyes never leaving Fang's.<p>

The silence thickened around them after Emery's departure, leaving Max lost in the thrall of Fang's beautiful eyes. She managed to resist for a moment but gave in to the need to feel him, to make sure she really wasn't imagining him. She brought their joined hands to her face, pressing his to her cheek as her eyes drifted shut. "Please be real." She begged, dreading the possibility that this was just another of her dreams and she'd wake up in her room alone.

He pressed his forehead to hers and she felt his warm breath fan over her face, "I am…but you…" he shook his head slightly in denial. "you I'm not so sure."

Her eyes drifted open once again, unable to _not_ stare at him. "How?" She mumbled, her throat growing tight, "Fort Dix…the bombing."

He gave a humourless chuckle, "Coma, six weeks." He sighed, "I tried to find you when I woke up." he informed her, eyes shining with sadness. "I was told the Rides were dead."

She bit her lip and nodded. "They are. I-I couldn't handle it. I'd lost my family." She stared at him meaningfully, "You. I ran." She lowered her eyes after admitting that, shame burning her cheeks.

He slid his arms around her waist and tipped her face up, cupping her cheek. A second later he was kissing her; soft and gentle just like she remembered. She melted into his embrace, revelling in the feel of his lips gliding against her own. Her lips parted, her tongue darting out to taste him. He groaned softly, gripping her tighter as if that would stop her from ever letting go.

"Eewie!" A familiar little voice yelped and they broke apart to find Emery with his nose wrinkled in disgust at them and his wet hair sticking up in every direction. "Momma, that's gross!" He complained.

The fog that had gathered in her head because of Fang's kiss cleared enough for her to pull away. Fang released her without complaint, a million questions swirling in his eyes once again. Max picked up Emery, not in the least bit concerned about the fact that he was soaked and wetting her clothes. "Em, remember my soldier friend that I told you about?"

He tapped his chin as he thought for a second before nodding, "Uh huh."

"This is Fang."

Emery gasped and pointed at Fang, "Letter man!"

Max laughed, "Yes, baby."

Em frowned, "You said he died."

She sighed and nodded, "I thought he did but he's back now."

"Wow! That's so _cool_!" Emery squirmed until his mom put him down again, "Wait till I tell Josh!"

Fang's confusion had intensified; she could feel it in his gaze. "Fang, this is Emery…my son."

"Hi!" Em waved enthusiastically before whirling on Max and clasping his hands together, "Can he come to school with me?"

"We'll see. Why don't you go fetch your bucket so we can go home?"

"And eat cake?"

She nodded and he pumped his fist in the air. "Yes!"

Emery once again left them alone to fetch his bucket giving Max the time to answer Fang's questions. "There's a reason why he doesn't look anything like me." She started, not liking the closed off look to his eyes. "He's not my blood son." she kicked the sand idly; "I adopted him when he was a baby. He knows all about it. A year ago he found your letters in my drawer and in the usual six year old fashion wanted me to tell him who they were from." She glanced up at him, "Hence why he knows you."

Fang said nothing, waiting for her to answer the only question that really mattered to him.

"I'm not with anyone." She admitted, watching as he relaxed slightly, "Hell, I haven't been with anyone for seven years." She stood silently for a moment, "See what you did to me, Marks? Completely ruined me for anyone else." She'd meant it as a joke, something to lighten the suddenly tense air but it came out more bitter than planned.

"I could say the same thing, Ride."

She swiped at yet more tears that had gathered in her eyes, "Yeah?"

He nodded with a smile in place. "Yeah."

"Good answer. I might have had to kick your ass if you'd said any different." She commented, resting her head comfortably against his chest.

She felt his laugh rumble through his chest as his arms circled her, "I love you." He whispered into her hair.

"And I love you." She sighed contentedly as she listening to his steady heartbeat. She always would.

**Tadaaaaaaa…so yeah, that's the end of that, god knows it's been long enough. Lol!, over a year to write three chapters…sad my friends, sad. **

**What did you think? I really hoped you liked it, I enjoyed writing it. it's like, double the length of the other two, too so that's a plus…unless I fell on my arse and completely screwed it up O.o **

**I hope I didn't!**

**Yes, I've left a lot up to guesswork but what fun would it be if I just gave you all the answers? Lol, so you can make up your own version of what happened to Fang after he woke up, if his family is still alive, what happened to Iggy etc.**

**Tell me what you thought of this and the series as a whole, I'd love to know. **

**Praying you liked it!  
><strong>

**REVIEWS=LUV  
>LUV=INSPIRATION<br>INSPIRATION=UPDATES**

**Fangrules**


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